Archives

Fifty years of cheers

Ruhr helped organize the event that saw cheerleaders from each of the past five decades perform a routine before Saturday’s football game.

She admitted she was feeling a little nervous.

“I get butterflies the same as I used to but it’s just great.”

In total 117 former members of the Riders cheer team showed up hours before kickoff. They practiced their routine and made sure they were ready to perform the player introductions later that day.

Carol Gay Bell, who participated in the routine, said the event brought back memories.

“To see all these girls together and to see people you haven’t seen in years has just been remarkable,” she said.

“This whole weekend has been so exciting and so much fun and so much reminiscing so when I came out today all those years go away and it’s just like yesterday. Being out there is the same as it was in the Sixties.”

Bell was the founder of the cheer team in January 1961 and was one of eight cheerleaders at that time.

“It was a wonderful time, really exciting and just to be part of the spirit of the whole thing,” she said.

Going to the 50th anniversary reunion reminded her of her best memories.

“The big memory is winning the first Grey Cup for the Riders in 1966,” she said.

Crystal Unser, who cheered for the Roughriders from 2001 until 2003, was glad to be part of the event.

“It’s fantastic; it’s like being out here and being a cheerleader again. It’s fun to relive your youth.”

Unser enjoyed socializing with all the former members and meeting people from different eras in the cheering history.

“Just hearing some of their memories and hearing our memories its actually really fun to get to know all the other girls,” she said.

Ruhr was happy with the turnout and was glad with the response.

“We had a lot of great response, it was just like we were back in time.”